COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

Present: Judges Willis, Annunziata and Bumgardner 

Argued at Alexandria, Virginia 

WILLIAM ALAN PRESLEY 

 MEMORANDUM OPINION* BY 

v. Record No. 2265-96-4 JUDGE JERE M. H. WILLIS, JR. 

 JANUARY 20, 1998 

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA 

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LOUDOUN COUNTY 

Thomas D. Horne, Judge 

 Charles A. Anderson for appellant. 

 Kathleen B. Martin, Assistant Attorney 

General (Richard Cullen, Attorney General, on 

brief), for appellee. 

 On appeal from his conviction for voluntary manslaughter, 

William Alan Presley contends that the evidence was insufficient 

to support his conviction. We agree and reverse and dismiss the 

conviction. 

 "On appeal, we review the evidence in the light most 

favorable to the Commonwealth, granting to it all reasonable 

inferences fairly deducible therefrom. The jury's verdict will 

not be disturbed on appeal unless it is plainly wrong or without 

evidence to support it." Maynard v. Commonwealth, 11 Va. App. 

437, 439, 399 S.E.2d 635, 637 (1990) (en banc) (citations 

omitted). See Horsley v. Commonwealth, 2 Va. App. 335, 339, 343 

S.E.2d 389, 391 (1986) ("The credibility of the expert witness 

and the weight to be accorded the evidence were matters within 

 

 *Pursuant to Code § 17-116.010 this opinion is not 

designated for publication. 
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the province of the jury."). When the sufficiency of the 

evidence is challenged on appeal, "it is our duty to look to that 

evidence which tends to support the verdict and to permit the 

verdict to stand unless plainly wrong." Snyder v. Commonwealth, 

202 Va. 1009, 1016, 121 S.E.2d 452, 457 (1961). 

 Presley lived with Sandra Laing and William Rossbach in a 

Loudoun County residence owned by Presley's father. Although 

involved in an intimate relationship, Laing and Presley 

maintained separate bedrooms. In the early morning of August 1, 

1995, Presley called the Virginia State Police and requested that 

they "kick" Laing out of the house. Trooper Alvin Blankenship 

advised Presley "to go to bed, get some sleep, and go to the 

magistrate's office the next day." 

 Rossbach testified that during that night, he heard banging 

noises and an argument between Laing and Presley. At one point, 

he entered the room where Laing and Presley were arguing and saw 

Presley's hand around Laing's throat. Presley removed his hands 

and said: "Sorry, God. I really messed up." Presley then 

telephoned for an ambulance. Laing was taken to Loudoun Hospital 

Center, where she died at 4:14 a.m. 

 The autopsy of Laing's body revealed a subdural hemorrhage 

on the left side and top of her head. Dr. Frances Fields, 

Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, testified that Laing's death 

resulted from this hematoma, which had been caused by blunt force 

trauma occurring within twenty-four hours prior to death. No 
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external bruise was found over the hematoma. However, a bruise 

was noted on Laing's right eyelid and a "small reddish abrasion" 

was seen on her left forehead. 

 Presley told Sergeant Eric Noble that he "beat the hell out 

of [Laing]" and that he had hit her with a chair. A broken chair 

was found near Laing. Presley admitted to Deputy Clete Kresge 

that he had hit Laing and that "[s]he had pissed me off tonight." 

 Four defense witnesses testified to Laing's poor motor 

coordination, which caused her to suffer frequent falls and 

bruises. Rossbach testified that Laing had stumbled and hit her 

face on a doorknob on the morning before she died. 

 Dr. Nicholas Lappes, a toxicologist, testified that the 

cumulative effect of the drugs in Laing's system was consistent 

with death by a drug overdose. Dr. John Adams, a forensic 

pathologist, testified that Laing's death was related to a 

congenital deformity of her spine and skull and to chronic liver 

disease. The spinal deformity caused her frequent falls and 

caused chronic pain in her neck and arms. The liver condition 

prevented proper blood clotting, causing abnormal bruising. Dr. 

Adams testified that Laing's subdural hematoma was at least 

twelve-hours old and that parts of it may have been seventy-two 

hours old. While noting that the subdural hematoma resulted from 

a combination of blunt force trauma and drugs and alcohol, he 

opined that it could have developed spontaneously due to improper 

blood clotting. 
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 Dr. John H. Lossing, a neurologist, testified that Laing 

died of suffocation because emergency room personnel were unable 

to intubate her successfully due to the deformity of her cervical 

spine. He opined that Laing's breathing difficulty resulted from 

excessive ingested medications. He opined that the hematoma 

caused a headache, which in turn led Laing to increase the dosage 

of her prescribed pain medicine, which may have produced an 

overdose. 

 Viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the 

evidence failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Presley 

intentionally killed Laing in the sudden heat of passion upon 

reasonable provocation. See Barrett v. Commonwealth, 231 Va. 

102, 105-06, 341 S.E.2d 190, 192 (1986). Although he beat her, 

the evidence failed to prove that he inflicted the mortal injury. 

 The medical examiner was unable to attribute Laing's subdural 

hematoma to Presley. She was unable to identify its cause. She 

acknowledged it could have occurred prior to the altercation 

between Laing and Presley. It could have resulted from Laing's 

prior accidental fall. See Hughes v. Commonwealth, 18 Va. App. 

510, 518-19, 446 S.E.2d 451, 457 (1994) (en banc) (citation 

omitted). 

 Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is reversed and 

the charge is dismissed. 

 Reversed and dismissed.